Big Idea:
In this lesson, students are using their new knowledge of the numbers 0 to 5 to make comparisons. Students will play a game to practice making these comparisons.

I start the lesson with a problem of the day to help students review skills and concepts from prior lessons and develop their ability to problem solve. I call the students up to the carpet. The students find their spots while saying this chant with me.

I project the Problem of the Day on the SMARTBoard and say to students, "This is our Problem of the Day for today. Look at the flowers. This says 'Count the flowers. Draw a picture with less than 4 flowers. This problem has two parts. What is the first thing it asks us to do?" (Count the flowers.) I have a student come up with a pointer and count the flowers. "Listen to the direction again. 'Count the flowers. Draw a picture with less than 4 flowers.' What do we need to do next?" (Draw a picture with less than 4 flowers.) I have a student come up and draw a picture of less than 4 flowers. I remind students to keep their pictures simple. The important part is that there are less than 4 flowers. We do not need to add a lot of details to the pictures. I say this because some students focus on adding details and making their pictures perfect and then they make mistakes with their math.

If you don't have a SMARTBoard, you can use the pdf copy of the slides in a variety of ways to reproduce this activity.

I tell students, "Today we will be playing a game to practice comparing the numbers 0 to 5."

Resources

To start this lesson, I have the students sit in a circle on the carpet. I remind the students to have their bottoms on the hardwood floor so that everyone fits. I have two students sit in the middle of the circle to model the game. If any students cannot see, I allow them to stand up or move so that they can see what is going on. I explain the game and have the students model how to play.

After the students have modeled the game, I have the students return to their tables where I already have the materials in place for the students to use. Each student starts the game with 5 cards (0 to 5) and 5 counters. The students are partnered with the person sitting next to them at their table. They know who based on where I put the materials. I have a few students move to make sure that all students have a partner. I circulate while the students play the game with their partners. After about 15 minutes, I have the students move the materials into the middle of their tables. I choose two students to collect the materials, one for the cards and one for the counters. The students can then get their centers.

This is a common card game with some adaptations. I teach the students to use the counters on every turn at this time. As the students gain confidence in their ability to compare numerals, I allow them to play without the counters unless there is a disagreement about which is more. Common Core Standard K.CC.7 states that students should be able to "Compare two numbers between 1 and 10 presented as written numerals." This game helps students make progress towards this standard.

I quickly circulate to make sure students are engaged and do not have any questions about how to complete the centers. I pull three groups during centers. I pull the first group for 10 minutes and the other two groups for 5 minutes each. The first group is comprised of the students who were having trouble identifying numbers 0-5 and matching the numbers to objects. I pull the students back to my small group table to do a reteach activity using flash cards and manipulatives (for this lesson I used the colored counters that we used for the game). I show the flash cards and have students practice identifying the numbers. I then give each student a pile of manipulative (0-5) and have them pick the number card that matches their group. I also review the comparing numbers game with this group. The next two groups just do the comparing numbers game. Prior to clean up, I check in with each table to see how the centers are going. I turn on Tidy Up by Dr. Jean.

There are many wonderful transition songs to be found, for free, online if you'd like to use music for transitions too.

Resources (4)

Resources

I close this lesson by inviting students back up to the carpet. I hold up two cards and ask, "Which is more?" I repeat this several times. I put counters on the document camera, if there is disagreement about which number is more.

I mention positive things that I noticed during centers. I also include something that needs to be better next time. I review what we did during our whole group lesson. "Today we learned to play a game that helps us practice comparing the numbers 0 to 5. Tomorrow, we are going to learn to order the numbers 0 to 5."

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As kindergartners begin to understand the meaning of numbers and what they represent, they can begin comparing them for more or less. This lesson introduces comparing numbers by comparing the quantity of letters in their names. It's fun and easy.

Big Idea:
Students will learn how to work in cooperative teams as they play a simple math game. They will be introduced to appropriate expectations and then have a chance to model them. The students will have an opportunity to explore three new math tools, too.